Master Stove Maker ESSE took centre stage at River Cottage in Devon for a feast of food and drink featuring celebrity chef Yotam Ottolenghi, chef and campaigner Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and BBC Presenter Kate Humble.
ESSE was one of the main sponsors of the River Cottage Food Fair – a celebration of seasonal, sustainable food, set to a backdrop of family-friendly fun and entertainment.
A stellar cast of celebrity chefs cooked on the latest electric ESSE range cookers including Yotam Ottolenghi, Tim Maddams and Gill Meller, Masterchef Finalists Billy Wright and Jack Layer and Bake-off semi-finalist Chetna Makan.
2019 year marks the 20th anniversary of Hugh’s ground-breaking River Cottage Series first hitting the TV screens and this year’s Food Fair was an extra special celebration to mark this milestone.
More than 7,000 visitors attended the Food Fair for a packed programme of cookery demonstrations and masterclasses, food and craft markets, foraging walks, farm tours and – of course – fabulous foodie feasts!
A visibly emotional Hugh thanked guests for joining the celebrations and was also joined on stage by Kate Humble. More than 500 people were seated in the main demo theatre to watch Yotam Ottolenghi prepare a mouth-watering dish of sustainably -caught pollack with tahini and a grilled radicchio salad.
Later, members of the original River Cottage cooking team were reunited for a lively 20-year challenge. Chaos reigned as host Steve Lamb attempted to maintain a semblance of order as Tim Maddams, Gill Meller and Pam ‘the Jam’ Corbin fought for space on the ESSE demo cookers.
ESSE’s brand new 990 ELX electric range cooker took pride of place in the stylish and practical Ashgrove Kitchens demo stage where headline chefs prepared a cornucopia of mouth-watering dishes featuring fresh, seasonal and locally sourced ingredients.
The team from Westcountry ESSE specialist Rangemoors demonstrated ESSE’s latest additions to the best-selling Ironheart range of cooking stoves: Bakeheart and Warmheart.
